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Great work on the parts. I picked up a Hylix carbon seat post off the bay for $70 and after cutting it down to length got it down to 131g. But it has some nasty white/red graphics on it that I will need to sand down. Fortunately, they are on top of all coating so simple sanding should get them off pretty quick. I wish I would have seen this thread before installing my new bars last week as they too have frickn logos all over the flat portion (ITM Pathom 2) and are glossy. I guess that will just have to wait until it is time to redo the bar tape since I hate to waste some brand new Lizard Skin dimpled tape.

Was debating on swapping out my rings (Chorus Compact 10spd) for some TA's or something but it doesn't look like it will be that large of a weight reduction going that route. I don't race and would want some longevity out of whatever rings I get which concerns me with the Fiber Lites. Love to know if anyone else is running those and how they are holding up (as well as that nifty cassette you got!)

Looks like I'll also be swapping out my der's as well to SR (currently on 10 spd rec) in an effort to shave some weight and eventually move to 11 spd. Runing Centaur V3 levers now and while they have the carbon blades (which thanks to you, I now need to pull and strip ) they are still heavier than the records or SR but since I'm on 10 spd they will have to do for now.

None the less, great work and keep us posted on the rings and cassette.

Ok, I know this has been covered before but I just want to make sure I am on the same page. You basically just used a razor blade to scrape the clear coat off the lever blades? Does it just start to chip away once you get it started? The last thing I want to do is gouge the carbon itself. I guess I am going to try this out on my lever blades before I take a blade to my bars down the road (just the bar tops of course-no sense in scraping what it going to be covered up by tape)

1spd wrote:I picked up a Hylix carbon seat post off the bay for $70 and after cutting it down to length got it down to 131g. But it has some nasty white/red graphics on it that I will need to sand down. Fortunately, they are on top of all coating so simple sanding should get them off pretty quick.

Some 1200-1500 dry and wet will do the trick fairly quickly and leave a great smooth matt finish without taking off all of the clear coat. Doing it this way means you can blend areas where more clear coat has been removed to get rid of graphics and the rest of the clear coat which you sand to achieve the same effect very easily.

1spd wrote:I wish I would have seen this thread before installing my new bars last week as they too have frickn logos all over the flat portion (ITM Pathom 2) and are glossy. I guess that will just have to wait until it is time to redo the bar tape since I hate to waste some brand new Lizard Skin dimpled tape.

Taking off the bar tape, sanding the bars and re-installing the tape (particularly if you are only interested in sanding the exposed areas) should be a relative quick job and most bar tape can be re-installed no problem without damaging it.

1spd wrote:Was debating on swapping out my rings (Chorus Compact 10spd) for some TA's or something but it doesn't look like it will be that large of a weight reduction going that route. I don't race and would want some longevity out of whatever rings I get which concerns me with the Fiber Lites. Love to know if anyone else is running those and how they are holding up (as well as that nifty cassette you got!)

The fibre-lytes are pretty rubust from what i have read from others that have used them. Do an image search for the on google and read the reviews. Some quote 3000-5000km if looked after properly which is outstanding for what they are. Or speak to stephen@fibre-lyte for some honest feedback on his rings.

1spd wrote:Looks like I'll also be swapping out my der's as well to SR (currently on 10 spd rec) in an effort to shave some weight and eventually move to 11 spd. Runing Centaur V3 levers now and while they have the carbon blades (which thanks to you, I now need to pull and strip ) they are still heavier than the records or SR but since I'm on 10 spd they will have to do for now.

You should be able to box cleaver and upgrade gradually to 11Sp from 10 Sp - like i and many others have experienced - start with the RD and 2012 FD, then chain. Make sure to change the cassette and shifters last and at the same time - that should work fine.

1spd wrote:None the less, great work and keep us posted on the rings and cassette.

Cheers

1spd wrote:Ok, I know this has been covered before but I just want to make sure I am on the same page. You basically just used a razor blade to scrape the clear coat off the lever blades? Does it just start to chip away once you get it started? The last thing I want to do is gouge the carbon itself. I guess I am going to try this out on my lever blades before I take a blade to my bars down the road (just the bar tops of course-no sense in scraping what it going to be covered up by tape)

The clear coat on campy levers from what i have found is quite thick and brittle and chips off like a dream. It is quite hard to gouge the carbon, you will notice when you have hit it as the blade will stop as it easily goes through the clear coat. I would start somewhere subtle them progress from there stripping/chipping away by sliding/pushing against the surface of the carbon under the clear coat (think of it as lifting the clear coat off with the tip/edge of the blade). If this fails for any reason use the scraping method which takes longer, holding the blade at 90 degrees to the lever surface and dragging back and forth. You will know when you hit carbon and it is difficult to damage the carbon this way too which is also good to know. Good luck

PS. Sanding the bars with 1200-1500 dry & wet would be better than a blade if the graphics are near the surface and you want to go Matt. It is easier, quicker and blends better.

Last edited by lo5707 on Thu Dec 27, 2012 10:26 pm, edited 3 times in total.

shoemakerpom2010 wrote:What frame are you using as these parts would look at home on a Canyon!

Agreed, the Canyon Ultimate CF SLX 2013 looks sexy and is nice and light too. I am building this up initially on a cheap 3k Carbon Chinese frame while i continue to save for a super light frame for next year.

Sisbud wrote:What handlebar is that? Did you sand it down as well? Thanks

It is from the bay from China (seller Carbonwheels2011). Internal cable routing and obviously integrated stem. It is surprisingly very well made from what i can tell. It is only 360g in size 420mm bars x 110mm stem (claimed 400g so very happy). Swapped out the stock stem bolts for black Ti bolts too

And yes, sanded lightly with 1500 Dry & Wet although you can buy them matt to start with to save you doing this (which i should have done really )

Normally, I would agree that pulling the bars, tape, and levers is a quick ordeal as well as replacing it all. However, on this particular set up it is a bit of a PITA! My bars don't have a true internal routing system like yours do but it is internal none the less as you can see in the picture.

To do the sanding on these bars, I basically have to disconnect all cables, remove them, remove the bar tape, and levers. I'm sure I can get the tape off pretty easily but since this tape doesn't stretch, I'm sure it will have some memory and perhaps not go back on as cleanly. None the less, I'll need to pull the levers anyway if I want to attack the blades so perhaps if it does snow this weekend like they are talking about it might be the perfect time to work on this part of the project.

The graphics appear to be under the clear coat or between it but definitely not on top of it (hard to see from this picture I know but you can see what I'm working with here) Bars are the ITM Pathom 2 and weigh in at 207g. Not the lightest thing out there but it met all my criteria of being a flat top bar with internal cable routing, and a compact bend. Most importantly, they are about 30g lighter than what I took off!

I sanded the graphics off my seat post last night (they were on the surface on each side) using 600 gritt wet and was done in less than 10 min. The post had a matte finish to start with so I then hit it with 1500 to blend it all. Looks like it came that way now! With that said, I am thinking that I will start with 1000 and see if that puts a dent in the bars. If not then I'll drop down to 600 and go at it and work my way back up.

Thanks for the info on the lever blade techniques, I'll be giving that a shot here soon enough.

Sisbud wrote:What handlebar is that? Did you sand it down as well? Thanks

It is from the bay from China (seller Carbonwheels2011). Internal cable routing and obviously integrated stem. It is surprisingly very well made from what i can tell. It is only 360g in size 420mm bars x 110mm stem (claimed 400g so very happy). Swapped out the stock stem bolts for black Ti bolts too

And yes, sanded lightly with 1500 Dry & Wet although you can buy them matt to start with to save you doing this (which i should have done really )

Before sanding

After sanding

Thank you for the information. Last question, is that compact handlebar or ergo?

Sisbud wrote:What handlebar is that? Did you sand it down as well? Thanks

It is from the bay from China (seller Carbonwheels2011). Internal cable routing and obviously integrated stem. It is surprisingly very well made from what i can tell. It is only 360g in size 420mm bars x 110mm stem (claimed 400g so very happy). Swapped out the stock stem bolts for black Ti bolts too

And yes, sanded lightly with 1500 Dry & Wet although you can buy them matt to start with to save you doing this (which i should have done really )

Dang, that is light. To compare, my Pro stealth EVO is 400g 120/42. Well done!

Juggler wrote:I use the Stronglight CT2 on my road bike... and since I use the small ring from time to time (and use Di2) it might not be the best idea

Won't be a problem

For everyday riding we do recommend the Lightweight 2 version, which is only slightly heavier but also stiffer and we have a number of customers who have run or are running these chainrings with Di2 with no problems at all. The Lightweight versions that the OP has are slightly lighter and hence slightly (and I mean slightly) more flexible but there are still lots of customers riding them. How many are using Di2, I have no idea.

Here is a quick pic of the work I pulled off last night. Took me a total of about 5 frickn hours! I had to scrape my levers rather than chip/cut at them with the blade because as I found out the cheap @$$ Centaur lever blades are wrapped aluminum w/ a very think/single layer of carbon! What BS!

Didn't get a pic of the bars on the scale as my battery died in the camera but they started out at 207g and came in t 199g after the stripping so I'm pretty happy with that.

Also, here is a picture of the seat post after removing the logos from it.